“Jenks!” I shrieked, hearing my voice harsh with terror. Leaning back, I swung my foot up, kicking him square in the ’nads.

Al grunted, his red, goat-slitted eyes widening. “Bitch,” he said, reaching down and grabbing my ankle.

Gasping, I went down as he yanked me onto my butt. I hit with a thump, panicking. As I kicked ineffectively at him, he dragged me out of the kitchen and into the hall.

“Rachel!” Jenks shrilled, black pixy dust sifting from him.

“Get me a charm!” I shouted as I grabbed the archway and hung on. Oh God. He had me. If he got me to a line, he could physically drag me to the ever-after, me saying no or not.

Arms tensing, I fought to hold onto the wall long enough for Jenks to open my charm cupboard and grab one. I didn’t need a finger stick; my lip was already bleeding from the fall.

“Here,” Jenks cried, hovering at ankle height to look me right in the eye. He had the cord to a sleep charm in his grip. His eyes were frightened and his wings were red.

“Don’t think so, witch,” Al said, giving me a jerk.

Pain sliced through my shoulder, and my grip was torn away. “Rachel!” Jenks exclaimed as my fingernails scraped the hardwood floor and then the carpet in the living room.

Al muttered Latin, and I cried out as an explosion blew the back door off its hinges.

“Jenks! Get out! Get your kids safe!” I shouted when cold air raced in to replace the air the explosion had blown out. Dogs barked as I slid down the stairs on my stomach. Snow, ice, and rock salt scraped my middle and my chin. I stared up at the shattered doorframe as David’s silhouette showed black against the light. I held my hand out for the charm Jenks had dropped. “The charm!” I screamed when he clearly had no idea what I wanted. “Throw me the charm!”

Al came to a halt. His English riding boots making prints on the unshoveled walk, he turned. “Detrudo,” he said, clearly a trigger word for a curse imprinted on his memory.

I gasped as a black and red shadow of ever-after struck David, throwing him into the far wall and out of my sight. “David!” I called as Al started dragging me again.

Wiggling, I twisted so I was on my butt and not my stomach. I cut a small swath through the snow behind Al as he pulled me kicking to the wooden gate at the front of the garden that led to the street. Al couldn’t use the ley line in the graveyard to drag me into the ever-after, as it was entirely encircled by holy ground that he couldn’t cross. The nearest ley line I knew about was eight blocks away. I had a chance, I thought, the cold snow soaking my jeans.

“Let go!” I demanded, kicking the back of Al’s knees with my one free foot.